PSOX

As reported by PSO-World member Cranberry, the US XBox Phantasy Star Online Episode 1&2 servers appear to have been shutdown a week early. XBox players have been unable to login since the last maintenance period on April 22nd. It is currently unknown whether users will receive a pro-rated refund for this early shutoff, on top of the one that was planned to be payed back.

On April 30th at 24:00 PST, the Phantasy Star Online Episode 1&2 Xbox servers will be permanently shutdown. For anyone who may have time remaining on their Hunters License, they will receive a pro-rated refund. Credit goes to Jonathan_F for bringing us this news. You can discuss this unfortunate news further in our Phantasy Star Online forum.

sprky585 writes, "According to the lastest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, 'Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 and 2' was named one of the 'Top 20 Games You Never Bought.' Here is what the review said in the Magazine:

What it Was: "Essentially, 'Diablo' in space. Crawl through space dungeons, kill things, level up, and buy cooler items. Repeat with three friends online for 100 hours."Why You Didn't Buy It: "Well, it did say, 'Xbox Live Required to Play' on the box, even though that wasn't exactly true. Plus, as you'll see throughout this list (the other 19 games), Sega's in-house products tended to have an inverse relationship between quality and sales (i.e., the better they were, the fewer copies they sold)"Why it Still Rocks: "What part of 'Diablo' in space' didn't just make you run out to the store?"Current Price and Availability: "No longer available new; $9.99 used at EBgames.com"Backwards Compatability with Xbox 360: "No""

kevlar_pso writes, "On the US PSO-X servers Halloween is over and Christmas is here. You may now find Saint Rappies, which if you've been nice this past year will give you a Christmas Present. Also, Pioneer Christmas has been uploaded. If you need some help with this quest, be sure to check out this thread in our forums."

kevlar_pso writes, "Microsoft published a list earlier today of a list of games that have been confirmed to work with the XBox 360 at launch. You can find the full list here.

Here Are All the "P" Games:

Pariah

Phantom Crash

Pinball Hall of Fame

Pitfall: The Lost Expedition

Predator Concrete Jungle

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Pro Evolution Soccer 5

Pro Race Driver

Pump It Up: Exceed

Pure Pinball

Puyo Pop Fever

As you can see PSO-X has been left off of the list. However, this is not the final cut of original Xbox games that will be emulated for the 360. Microsoft IS adding more so you will need to check back occasionally to see if PSO-X makes the list. "

kevlar_pso goes on to add: "This list does bring up and interesting question though. Perhaps there was a reason that PSO-X will not be playable on the 360. I know for a fact that MMO's will not require the Gold Xbox Live service. Seeing as how we have to PAY $8.95 a month on Xbox 1, minus the 2 free months in the trial period, could it be that Microsoft wants to steer more consumers towards the Gold Membership since PSO-X would only require the Free Silver membership? Or could it be something jucier, something far greater? Could it be that. . . .(gasp) PSU is in development for the 360? That Microsoft & SEGA want to pull in Phantasy Star players into Universe as opposed to Online which was ported from the GameCube which was ported from the Dreamcast? Hmmmm. . . .It's just a thought."

momonpso writes, "Easter is finally over! I hope you all got lots of Easter Eggs because you won't be getting any more for a year now. There are now 2 new quests up and running for XBox! The first is the Max Attack 2. Get 10,000 kills and get your Heart of ID. This quest takes place in Eps 2, from Temple to Towers. Make it all the way to the finish line to get your tickets. The second quest is Beach Laughter. In this quest you can play games with Rappys using your tickets from the Max Attack Quests, to get more kill points towards your hearts. There are other things to do as well. So go in a have fun talking to the Rappys."

momonpso writes, "XBox PSO now has the Valentines Day decorations up in the lobbys. Plus they have 2 new quests to choose from. The first one is the seasonal Valentines Day Quest, a one player quest for female characters only. And the second one is Phantasmal World 4, which takes place in the Control Tower."

Interesting, I didn't think Phantasmal World 3 was up for PSOX yet. Did they skip over it?